2004-05-20

That Wedding Party

Washington: US helicopter strike alleged to have struck wedding party was directed against safe house in al Qaim 25 km from Syrian border occupied by foreign Arab fighters infiltrating Iraq from Syria, who fired at helicopter. Coalition ground forces found quantities of explosives, foreign passports, 2 m Iraqi and Syria dinars and satcom radio. Iraqi sources claimed more than 40 killed. International Red Cross condemns US military for using excessive force in incident.

- source: Debka